KR100710928B1 - Charging method and charging system - Google Patents

Abstract

The operator providing the maintenance management service of the device 15 quantifies the productivity of the device 15 in a predetermined service period (S42). The difference is calculated by comparing the quantified productivity with a predetermined productivity standard (S43). Based on the calculated difference, the billed amount for the maintenance of the service period is determined (S45). Thereby, the billing which can satisfy both the user of the apparatus 15 and a maintenance management company can be made.

Description

Maintenance management method and maintenance management system of equipment {CHARGING METHOD AND CHARGING SYSTEM}

The present invention relates to a maintenance management method and maintenance management system for production equipment.

In recent years, the types of products produced by manufacturers have increased due to the progress of technology, the fierce competition among manufacturers, and the life cycle has been shortened. Under these circumstances, manufacturers are required to establish a production system that can cope with so-called small quantity production of a variety of products capable of producing products in response to social or customer demands.

In order to establish the production system as described above, it is effective to keep the productivity of the production equipment high. For example, if an urgent production request is received and the production can be made immediately in response, an opportunity loss can be avoided and customer satisfaction can be improved. Availability can be used as an indicator of productivity of such equipment.

Availability is expressed as {(Operations Time)-(Downtime)} / (Operations Time) × 100. Operations Time is, for example, coincident with the operating time of the plant where the equipment is placed minus the Non-Scheduled Time. In addition, the downtime is composed of a scheduled downtime for periodic inspection and the like, and an unscheduled downtime due to an unexpected failure. From the equation, it is effective to shorten the downtime in order to achieve high availability.

Maintenance is indispensable to maintain a certain degree of availability of the device. Maintenance of the device is performed by the vendor providing the device or a service provider (hereinafter referred to as a business operator) entrusted by the vendor as a service task. In such a case, the maintenance management service is performed so that the device satisfies the availability determined by the manufacturer and the operator. Therefore, during the maintenance management service period, the device can be operated at a predetermined availability, so that the productivity is almost constant.

Recently, a system capable of improving productivity by maintenance management has been developed. In these systems, maintenance is performed jointly by the manufacturer (user of the device) and the vendor. Specifically, the vendor acquires the operation information of the device from a remote place via a communication network, grasps the operation state of the device in real time as the manufacturer, and cooperates with the user to perform necessary maintenance management work. The work is made efficient by the user and the vendor sharing the device information and collaborating on maintenance based on the information. As a result, the availability of the device can be improved by reducing the unscheduled downtime of the device by speeding up the failure recovery.

In addition to the operation information, in the above system, the vendor acquires information on the parts replacement of the device, such as the service life of the parts. The vendor calculates an optimal replacement cycle of the part based on the obtained information, and feeds back the calculated replacement cycle to the user. As a result, the user can efficiently exchange parts, and the availability can be improved, for example, the scheduled downtime of the device can be substantially reduced.

As described above, in the above method, it is possible to improve the availability of the apparatus during maintenance period, that is, to improve the productivity, and sometimes to achieve higher productivity (availability) than the value set in advance in the maintenance contract or the like. Can be. In such a case, it can be said that the vendor is doing not only "maintenance" work but also "improving" work.

By the way, the maintenance management service performed by a business operator or the like usually demands a price from a user (manufacturer), which is not free. For example, a business operator or the like charges a user a certain amount of money for an operation or an amount proportional to the time required for maintenance work. In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-117336 discloses a method of charging for the actual operation amount of the device such as the number of wafer processing.

However, these conventional charging methods are applied to a maintenance management service for realizing constant productivity using the previously set availability rate as an index, and the above-mentioned "improvement" work is divided by other "maintenance" work. It is not possible. For this reason, when the billing amount is determined simply by applying the conventional billing method, both the operator and the user cannot be satisfied for the following reasons.

First, for a service provider or the like that provides a service, the above-mentioned cooperative work with the user requires a real-time waiting posture, and the cost burden increases. Therefore, when a vendor or the like asks for the cost of maintenance, it is natural to request a price for the "improvement" work in addition to the cost of the conventional "maintenance" work.

On the other hand, the user can also benefit from the improvement of the productivity of the device, such as a reduction in manufacturing cost. For this reason, it will be convinced to pay for the "improvement" work in accordance with the demand of the operator. However, for the user, the operation time is not equivalent to the production time due to the order status or the like, and it is difficult to accept the simple increase in the billed amount because the increase in the manufacturing cost.

For this reason, the billing method was able to charge quantitatively about the degree (for improvement work) which contributed to the productivity improvement during maintenance management, and the billing method which can satisfy both a user and a maintenance management company was requested | required. There is no conventional method.

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a maintenance management method and a maintenance management system having a charging function capable of satisfying both a user of a device and a maintenance management operator.

Disclosure of the Invention

In order to achieve the above object, the following invention is disclosed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

A maintenance method of a device according to the first aspect of the present invention is a charging method for determining an amount of money for a maintenance service of an apparatus, the operation situation indicating a physical quantity indicating an operation state of a device to be a maintenance service On the basis of the operation state data acquisition step of acquiring the data by the sensor, the physical amount indicated by the operation state data acquired at the operation state data acquisition step, and the reference physical amount, it is determined whether the device is normal or abnormal, and is determined to be abnormal. In one case, an alarming step of issuing a predetermined alarm by the output means, an operation time detection step of acquiring an operating time of the device by a measuring means for measuring the time when the device is on in a predetermined service period, The operation time detected by the operation time detection step and the predetermined operation value Based on the time, the quantification step of calculating an index value indicating the quantified productivity of the device at a predetermined service time and the productivity of the device quantified in the quantification step are compared with a predetermined productivity criterion and comparing means. The maintenance management service within the service period based on the comparison step of calculating the difference and the charging reference data from the charging reference value storage means and the charging reference data and the comparison means calculated in the comparison step. And a billing amount determining step of determining the billing amount for the bill.

The preliminary period operation time detection step of detecting the operation time of the device in the preliminary period and the operation time detection step detected by measuring the time that the device is turned on in the predetermined preliminary period by the measuring means. A productivity criterion determination step of determining the productivity criterion by calculating, by a computer, an indicator value indicating the quantified productivity of the device in a predetermined preliminary period based on the operating time in the preliminary period and the operable time in the preliminary period. You may arrange.

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The maintenance system of a device according to the second aspect of the present invention is a charging system for determining the amount of money for the maintenance service of the device, the operation state indicating a physical quantity indicating the operation state of the device to be the maintenance service On the basis of the operation state acquiring means for acquiring the data, the physical quantity representing the operation state data acquired by the operation state data acquiring means, and the reference physical quantity, it is determined whether the device is normal or abnormal, and determined that it is abnormal. The alarm means for emitting an alarm from the output means, the operation time detection means for detecting the operation time of the device by measuring the time that the device is on in a predetermined service period, and the operation time detection means. Based on the detected uptime and the predetermined available time, the predetermined Quantification means for calculating an index value indicating the quantified productivity of the device in the service period, comparison means for calculating the difference by comparing the productivity of the device quantified by the quantification means with a predetermined productivity standard, and the The service period based on the charging reference value storage means for storing the correspondence relationship between the difference in productivity calculated by the comparison means and the charged amount, the reference value stored in the charging reference value storage means and the difference calculated by the comparison means; And a billing amount determining means for determining a billing amount for the maintenance management service within.

The charging system of the above configuration may be provided with productivity criteria determining means for operating the apparatus in a predetermined preliminary period, quantifying the productivity of the apparatus in the preliminary period, and determining the productivity criteria.

In the charging system of the above configuration, the quantification means quantifies the productivity of the device based on at least one of, for example, availability, uptime, and yield.

In the charging system having the above configuration, the charging amount determining means may determine the charging amount by multiplying the calculated difference by a predetermined conversion rate.

1 is a view showing the configuration of a charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a device;

3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a factory-side computer;

4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a computer at the operator side;

5 is a diagram showing an example of operation status data stored in the device information DB;

6 is a diagram showing an example of maintenance data stored in a device information DB;

7 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in a profile information DB;

8 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in a profile information DB;

9 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a contact information DB;

10 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a part information DB;

11 is a diagram showing an example of data stored in a charging information DB;

12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the flow of a charging operation;

13 is a view showing an example of the flow of maintenance and monitoring operations;

14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow of an exchange period calculation operation;

15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow of a billing amount determination operation;

It is a figure which shows an example of an invoice.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

The maintenance management method and the maintenance management system of the production apparatus which concern on a present Example are demonstrated below with reference to drawings.

In the present embodiment, the production apparatus is a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, which is used in a factory by a semiconductor device manufacturer as a user. The maintenance service of the device is performed by the vendor that provided the device or by a company (hereinafter referred to as a company) that has been entrusted by the vendor.

1 shows a configuration of a charging system 11 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the billing system 11 of this embodiment is comprised by the 1 or a plurality of factories 12 of 1 or a plurality of users, and the establishment 13 of a service company connected by the communication line 14. As shown in FIG. .

The communication line 14 is comprised by the Internet, for example. In addition, the communication line 14 may be comprised, for example, any of a leased line, a public line network, an ISDN network, a cable broadcasting network, a wireless communication network, a satellite communication network, or a combination thereof.

In the factory 12, one or a plurality of devices 15 and a factory-side computer 16 are arranged. The device 15 and the factory-side computer 16 are connected by an in-house wiring network 17 such as a LAN (Local Area Network). The factory side computer 16 centrally manages the devices 15 used in the factory 12.

The device 15 is a device for use in the manufacture of electronic devices such as semiconductor devices and liquid crystal displays, and may be, for example, pre-process devices 15 (film forming devices, heat treatment devices, etc.) or subsequent process devices ( 15) (mounting device, test device, etc.). In one factory 12, one or more kinds of devices 15 are arranged.

The structure of the apparatus 15 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the case where the sheet | seat type plasma CVD apparatus is used as the apparatus 15 is demonstrated as an example.

As shown in FIG. 2, the device 15 includes a chamber 110 formed in a cylindrical shape.

An exhaust port 111 is formed on the sidewall of the chamber 110. A vacuum pump 113 is connected to the exhaust port 111 via an APC (automatic pressure regulator) 112. The vacuum pump 113 is comprised with a turbo molecular pump etc., and vacuums the inside of the chamber 110 to predetermined pressure reduction atmosphere. Moreover, the gate valve 114 is provided in the side wall of the chamber 110, and the wafer W is conveyed between the chamber 110 and the exterior with the gate valve 114 open.

The susceptor 115 is provided in substantially the center of the chamber 110. The susceptor 115 is comprised with conductors, such as aluminum, and comprises the lower electrode of a parallel plate electrode. The wafer W is placed on the upper surface of the susceptor 115.

The susceptor 115 is provided on the stage 117 supported by the shaft 116. The shaft 116 is disposed through the opening formed in the bottom surface of the chamber 110. The shaft 116 is connected to a lifting mechanism not shown, and lifts the susceptor 115 together with the stage 117. The inside of the shaft 116 is formed of a hollow, and the wiring and the like is inserted and connected inside.

The lower part of the stage 117 is covered with a bellows 118 made of stainless steel or the like. The bellows 118 has upper and lower ends screwed to the bottom of the stage 117 and the bottom of the chamber 110, respectively. The bellows 118 expands and contracts with the lifting and lowering of the stage 117 to maintain an airtight state in the chamber 110.

The first high frequency power supply 119 is connected to the susceptor 115. The first high frequency power supply 119 has a frequency in the range of 0.1 to 13 MHz.

The showerhead 120 is provided above the susceptor 115. The shower head 120 is provided to face the susceptor 115 in parallel, and has an electrode plate 121 on a surface opposite to the susceptor 115.

The electrode plate 121 is composed of a disk-shaped member made of a conductor, and has a plurality of gas holes 121a in its entire surface. The second high frequency power supply 122 is connected to the electrode plate 121. The second high frequency power supply 122 has a frequency in the range of 13 to 150 MHz. The electrode plate 121, together with the susceptor 115, constitutes a pair of counter electrodes of the parallel plate electrodes.

The shower head 120 includes a hollow portion 120a that is in electrical communication with the gas hole 121a of the electrode plate 121. In addition, the shower head 120 is connected to the gas supply pipe 123. The gas supply pipe 123 is connected to the gas source 125 via the mass flow controller (MFC) 124. The gas supplied from the gas source 125 is controlled by the MFC 124 at a predetermined flow rate and supplied to the hollow portion 120a of the showerhead 120, and is blown into the chamber 110 from the gas hole 121a. do.

The gas source 125 is supplied with a process gas and a carrier gas for the plasma CVD process. In the film formation operation, a predetermined high frequency voltage is applied to the susceptor 115 and the electrode plate 121, and a plasma of gas is generated in the space between the two. Depending on the type of activity in the plasma, a predetermined CVD film is formed on the surface of the wafer W.

The device 15 also has a time counter 126. The time counter 126 counts the time when the device 15 is on. The counted time is accumulated in the device status DB as an uptime as described later.

The device 15 has a central processing unit 127 composed of a microcomputer, a memory, or the like. The central processing unit 127 transmits a signal for controlling the overall operation of the device 15.

In the operation of the device 15, the central processing unit 127 is connected to the APC 112, detects the internal pressure of the chamber 110, and maintains the pressure within a predetermined range. In addition, the central processing unit 127 is connected to the MFC 124 to adjust the flow rate of the gas supplied to the chamber 110 to a predetermined amount. In this way, the central processing unit 127 controls the reaction via the APC 112, the MFC 124, and the like, and acquires the information inside the chamber 110.

In addition, the device 15 further includes a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the wafer W, a wafer counter for counting the number of processed wafers, a foreign material counter for counting the amount of foreign matter in the chamber 110, and the like. 127 may acquire other data.

The central processing unit 127 stores the operation state data relating to the operation states of these devices 15 in the storage unit 128 and also sends it to the factory-side computer 16 via the communication unit 129. In addition, although the memory | storage part 128 is provided in the apparatus 15 in the figure, you may remove the memory | storage part 128 from the apparatus 15, for example in the computer 16 of FIG.

The device 15 also includes an input / output control unit 130 connected to the central processing unit 127. The input / output controller 130 is connected to an input / output device 131 having a display screen, a keyboard, and the like. The input / output device 131 functions as a human interface. The worker in the factory 12 inputs predetermined control information such as setting conditions from the input / output device 131, and reads out information indicating the state of the device 15 as an output.

The worker inputs data relating to maintenance work performed on the device 15 from the input / output device. For example, when a worker replaces a part by failure or regularly, the worker inputs information regarding the maintenance of the apparatus 15, such as the date and time, the kind of part, and the use time. The input information is stored in the storage unit 128 as maintenance data.

The maintenance data includes other log data not related to maintenance. The log data is a data of the history of all the operations of the device 15 together with a time stamp, which operation of the device 15 is operated by the operator of the factory 12, which of the devices 15 is used. When and how the sensor operates, when and when the routine of the software of the device 15 entered, what data entered into the storage unit 128, and the like.

The central processing unit 127 also stores the maintenance data input from the input / output device 131 in the storage unit 128 and also sends it to the factory-side computer 16.

3 shows the configuration of the factory-side computer 16. As shown in FIG. 3, the factory-side computer 16 includes a central processing unit 18, a communication unit 19, a storage unit 20, and an input / output control unit 21.

The central processing unit 18 is composed of a microcomputer, a memory, and the like, and controls the operation of the factory-side computer 16.

The communication unit 19 functions as an interface between the factory wiring network 17 and the factory side computer 16 of the communication line 14. The central processing unit 18 performs transmission and reception of information between the device 15 and the like in the factory 12 via the communication unit 19.

The central processing unit 18 transmits the operation status data and the maintenance data received from the device 15 to the operator-side computer, which will be described later, via the communication unit 19. Operational status data is sent to the operator's computer in near real time, and maintenance data is sent at the same time or at predetermined intervals.

The storage unit 20 stores operation status data and maintenance data. The central processing unit 18 stores the data received from the device 15 via the in-house wiring network 17 in the storage unit 20.

In addition, the storage unit 20 may store the data having the same contents as the storage unit 128 of the device 15, or may store data for a longer period than the storage unit 128 of the device 15. . The data may be stored in either the storage unit 128 of the device 15 or the storage unit 20 of the factory-side computer 16.

The input / output control unit 21 is connected to an input / output device 22 having a display screen, a keyboard, and the like. The input / output device 22 functions as a human interface. The worker in the factory 12 controls the factory-side computer 16 and the device 15 from the input / output device 22, and also acquires information about the device 15 and the like.

In the event of a failure, for example, the user's worker receives information on the failure response from the operator via the input / output device 22 of the factory-side computer 16 and performs necessary procedures.

Here, the factory-side computer 16 always turns on the device 15 except for an unscheduled downtime, such as when an obstacle occurs, and a scheduled downtime, such as a periodic inspection, to produce the product at any time. It is trying to be as possible.

The factory-side computer 16 causes the device 15 to perform a test operation every predetermined time when the device 15 is in the standby state in which the production operation is not performed. At this time, the device 15 performs a normal film forming operation on the dummy wafer in accordance with a predetermined test program. If an abnormality is detected in the test operation, the factory-side computer 16 turns off the device 15 as necessary and executes a recovery process. In addition, during the test operation, the operator-side computer, which will be described later, monitors the operation state of the device 15 and notifies the user side of the detection of the abnormality.

As described above, the time counter 126 counts the time when the device 15 is on. That is, the time counter 126 counts the time when the device 15 actually operates normally and is in a normally operable state. In this specification, the time when the device 15 actually operates normally, and is in a state which can operate normally is shown as "uptime."

1, the operator side computer 23 is arrange | positioned at the establishment 13 of a service provider. 4 shows the configuration of the operator-side computer 23. As shown in FIG. 4, the operator-side computer 23 includes a central processing unit 24, a communication unit 25, an input / output control unit 26, and a storage unit 27.

The central processing unit 24 is composed of a microcomputer, a memory, and the like, and controls the operation of the operator-side computer 23.

The communication unit 25 functions as an external interface on the operator side computer 23 side. The central processing unit 24 performs transmission and reception of information with one or a plurality of factory-side computers 16 via the communication unit 25.

The input / output control unit 26 is connected to an input / output device 28 including a screen, a keyboard, and the like. The input / output device 28 functions as a human interface. The operator on the operator side performs predetermined input processing from the input / output device 28 to control the operator side computer 23. In addition, the operator of the operator transmits the handling information from the input / output device 28 to the user side by electronic mail or the like, and also confirms the operation status of the device 15.

The storage unit 27 is configured to include various databases DB. The storage unit 27 includes a device information DB 29, a profile information DB 30, a contact information DB 31, a part information DB 32, and a charging information DB 33.

In the device information DB 29, operation state data and maintenance data of the device 15, which is a target of the maintenance management service, are stored for each device 15. The device information DB 29 is classified for each user and factory 12, for example.

5 shows an example of operation status data stored in the device information DB 29. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the operation information data of the device 15 is stored in the device information DB 29 in the form indicated by * 1 in FIG. 5.

In addition, the operation state data includes the uptime of the device 15 acquired from the time counter 126 of the device 15. As described above, the uptime represents the time when the device 15 is turned on. For example, the time counter 126 is reset for each unit charging period described later, and the value indicated by the time counter 126 indicates an uptime within the unit charging period.

The uptime is not limited to the time in which the device 15 is actually producing (Productive Time), and also includes the time (Standby Time) which does not produce but waits. The equipment 15 is always on during the operating time of the factory 12, and even if it is not in production, it is waiting to respond promptly from a customer. In this way, the uptime includes the production time and the standby time, and is composed of the time when the device 15 is turned on.

6 shows an example of maintenance data stored in the device information DB 29. In the example shown in FIG. 6, in the device information DB 29, maintenance data regarding parts replacement are stored for each type. The maintenance data is composed of replacement days (hours) for each part, total usage time, and the like.

The profile information DB 30 stores a standard profile of parameters (temperature, pressure, etc.) during each process, which is a recipe for the operation of the device 15.

Steps A, B, ... stored in the profile information DB 30 in FIG. An example of the standard profile of each parameter in is shown. In the example shown in FIG. 7, pressure, gas flow volume, etc. are stored in the form shown by * 2 and * 3 as a change parameter in process A. FIG.

In addition, in the profile information DB 30, as shown in FIG. 8, the process table (recipe) in the predetermined process of each apparatus 15 is stored. The recipe is notified from the user to the operator in advance through the communication line 14 or via a human hand. The recipe is stored in the form shown by * 4, for example.

The recipe and reference profile stored in the profile information DB 30 are used for monitoring the operation | movement state of the apparatus 15 by the factory side computer 16 mentioned later.

More specifically, the central processing unit 24 reads the standard profile shown in FIG. 7 for each parameter in accordance with the recipe shown in FIG. 8. The operator computer 23 (central processing unit 24) determines the state of the device 15 by comparing the change profile of each parameter in the actual operation status data received from the device 15 with the read standard profile. do.

The operator computer 23 determines that the device 15 is in an abnormal state when the actual change profile and the standard profile of each parameter are not in the range of, for example, an error of 5%.

The contact information DB 31 stores contact information (e-mail addresses, etc.) of the user-side worker and the operator-side worker. 9 shows an example thereof. In the contact information DB 31 shown in FIG. 9, the mail address of the person (user side and company side) in charge of maintenance management work of this apparatus 15 is linked to every apparatus 15. As shown in FIG.

The parts information DB 32 stores the optimum replacement cycle of each part constituting the device 15. An example of the part information DB 32 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the parts information DB 32 stores the optimum replacement period of the components which comprise each kind of the apparatus 15. As shown in FIG.

The optimal replacement cycle is the period during which the components can be used reliably, as recommended by the operator. The optimum replacement interval is an optimized value based on the parts replacement data that occur in actual use. For example, the optimum replacement cycle is the average value of the service life of the parts collected as maintenance data or a value added thereto with a predetermined margin. In addition, the optimization method is not limited to this.

The more data is optimized, the more reliable data is obtained. Therefore, the optimal exchange period calculated by collecting data from one or a plurality of users and calculated based on this is, for example, more reliable than that calculated by the user alone.

The billing information DB 33 stores various data used for billing amount determination processing for the maintenance service. 11 shows an example of data stored in the charging information DB 33. In the example shown in FIG. 11, data relating to the type, serial number, start of use, preliminary period, unit billing period, operation time, productivity reference value, and billing rate of the device 15 used for each user are stored. have.

These information are predetermined values determined by the decision between the user and the operator, and are input to the operator computer 23 before the determination of the billed amount.

The use start date represents the date and time when the actual operation of the device 15 is started or the date and time when the maintenance management service is started. The arrival of the date of the preliminary period mentioned later and a unit billing period based on a use start date is determined.

The preliminary period is a period for determining the productivity reference value described later, and is a preliminary period before starting the maintenance management service. The preliminary period is, for example, a predetermined period, for example, three months after the start of use of the device 15 or before the start of a full-scale maintenance service.

In the preliminary period, maintenance of the device 15 is basically performed by the user himself, and in the event of a failure, the operator performs work in accordance with contact from the user. The operator acquires the operation information of the device 15 via the communication line 14 and accumulates various types of data. However, the operator responds after the notification from the user. In this way, maintenance of the preliminary period is mainly performed by the user, and the contribution of the operator is performed to the minimum.

The unit billing period represents a period during which the operator demands a price, that is, a cost for the maintenance service, and is set to, for example, one year. The unit charging period is started after the end of the preliminary period or after the end of the immediately preceding unit charging period, and charging occurs after the end of the unit charging period.

Operations Time is the time at which the device 15 should be operational within the current unit charging period at the user's factory 12. The operation time is a predetermined value than, for example, an operation schedule of the factory 12 of the user in which the device 15 is arranged, and is 8,400 hours (350 days) in the example shown in the figure.

The billing amount is determined using availability, which quantifies productivity in the unit billing period. Availability is the ratio of Uptime to Operations Time in the unit billing period, (Uptime) / (Operations Time) × 100 (% Is calculated as The uptime is stored in the device information DB 29.

Here, in this specification, availability is different from what is called utilization. The utilization rate represents the ratio of Productive Time to Operations Time. In addition, the uptime in the said formula used for calculation of availability is including the standby time which does not contribute to production. Therefore, availability refers to the ratio of the "moveable time" of the apparatus among the operations time.

The productivity reference value is used as a calculation standard of the billed amount. The productivity reference value is determined by quantifying the productivity of the device 15 in the aforementioned preliminary period. The productivity reference value is determined using the same quantification technique as in the billing period, and is determined as availability. Availability is calculated in the same manner as in the above-described unit charging period from the operations time and the uptime in the preliminary period.

The billed amount is determined by comparing the quantified productivity (availability) in the unit billing period with the productivity reference value. As described above, maintenance is mainly performed by the user in the preliminary period, and the contribution of the operator is performed to the minimum. On the other hand, in the charging target period, the user and the business operator are cooperatively performed.

By comparing the productivity (reference value) of the preliminary period with the productivity (actual measurement) of the billing target period, it is possible to quantify the change in productivity corresponding to the contribution of the operator in the reward management of the billing target period. In this example, the operator charges only when productivity improves and charges an amount proportional to the increase.

The charging rate is a rate for converting the difference (improvement) between the measured productivity and the productivity standard of the charging target period into a billed amount. For example, when the availability is 56% and the reference value is 51% in the billing target period, the difference indicating the improvement in quantified productivity is 5%. When the charge rate is 30,000 yen /%, for example, the charge amount for the device 15 is determined to be 150,000 yen by multiplying them.

The billing rate is determined between the operator and the user. The billing rate is determined by the model, the number of years of use, and the number of years of contract. In addition, in the example shown in the figure, the charging rate is set for each model.

Hereinafter, the operation of the charging system 11 will be described with reference to the drawings. 12-15, the flow of the operation | movement of the operator side computer 23 (especially the central processing part 24) is shown. In addition, the flow shown to FIGS. 12-15 is an example, and anything may be used as long as it shows the same effect.

First, the device 15 is delivered to the user's factory 12 and a startup operation is executed. The inspection is executed at the portion where the device 15 has shown the predetermined function (step S11). After the inspection, actual operation of the device 15 is started. This date and time is stored in the charging information DB 33 as the start date of use.

On the other hand, the user contracts with a service provider for providing the maintenance management service of the device 15, and the maintenance management service is started at the same time as the operation of the device 15 is started. At this time, a billing method is determined between the user and the business operator. That is, the method of setting the reference value, the preliminary period for setting, the unit charge subject period, the charge rate, and the like are determined. These pieces of information are input to the operator computer 23 and stored in the billing information DB 33.

The operator performs maintenance management work as a preliminary period in which a predetermined period, for example, three months, is determined from the start of operation of the device 15 (step S12). During this preliminary period, maintenance is basically carried out by the user himself, and in the event of a failure, the operator performs work in accordance with contact from the user. The operator acquires the operation information of the device 15 via the communication line 14 and accumulates various types of data. However, the operator responds after the notification from the user. In this way, maintenance management is performed with the goal of maintaining the productivity of the device 15 to a predetermined level in the preliminary period.

After the end of the preliminary period (step S13; YES), the operator calculates availability in this preliminary period (step S14). As described above, the availability rate is obtained as a percentage (%) obtained by dividing the uptime of the device 15 in the preliminary period by the available time. The calculated reference value is stored in the charging information DB 33 as the productivity reference value.

After the completion of the preliminary period, the operator starts the "original" maintenance management work as follows, such as monitoring the device 15 in real time (step S15). 13 shows an example of the flow of the monitoring operation.

The operator-side computer 23 is receiving the operation status data of the device 15 in real time (step S21). The operator-side computer 23 stores the received operation status data in the device information DB 29 (step S22).

The operator-side computer 23 reads out operating status data (change profile) based on a predetermined parameter, for example, temperature, from the operating status data received from the device information DB 29 (step S23).

The operator-side computer 23 refers to the standard profile of the temperature stored in the profile information DB 30 and compares it with the profile of the operation status data (step S24). The operator computer 23 determines whether or not the difference between the measured profile and the standard profile is within a predetermined error range (for example, 5%) (step S25).

The above processing is not limited to the temperature parameter, but is also performed simultaneously on other parameters such as the pressure obtained from the device 15.

If it is determined that the difference between the measured profile and the standard profile is within a predetermined error range (step S25; YES), the operator computer 23 receives the operation status data and continues to monitor the device 15.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the difference between the two is not within the above range (step S25; NO), the operator-side computer 23 determines that a failure has occurred in the device 15. At this time, the operator computer 23 notifies the user side of the occurrence of the failure and the situation via the input / output device of the factory computer 16 (step S26). At the same time, the operator computer 23 reads contact information such as an e-mail address of the maintenance person on the manufacturer's side (user) from the contact information DB 31, and transmits an e-mail or the like that detects the occurrence of a failure in the contact.

When an abnormality is detected in the operation condition, the operator computer 23 refers to the contact information DB 31 and records the occurrence of the failure and its contents on the user (factory 12) side and the operator side. The worker on the user's side confirms the situation of the device 15 based on the holding and performs necessary procedures. In addition, the worker in charge on the operator's side carries out the repair work toward the factory 12 in which the defective device 15 is used by carrying replacement parts if necessary based on the holding.

In addition, the operator computer 23 also notifies the operator of the operator and the like of the occurrence of the failure and the situation via the input / output device of the operator computer 23. At the same time, the operator computer 23 reads contact information such as an e-mail address of the operator's maintenance person in charge from the contact information DB 31 and transmits an e-mail or the like that detects the occurrence of a failure in the contact information.

The worker on the user side and the operator side performs the coping process based on the notification from the operator side computer 23. Note that the means for notifying the user side and the operator side maintenance person is not limited to an e-mail, but may be a mobile phone, an emergency pager, a handheld computer, or the like.

The operator-side computer 23 notifies of the occurrence of the failure, and also sends information necessary for coping to the person concerned (step S27). The worker on the user side and the operator side performs the restoration process based on the received response information.

At this time, the time counter 126 stops counting when the device 15 is turned off for recovery processing.

When the operator computer 23 determines that the profile of the data relating to the pressure in the chamber 110 is abnormal, for example, the operator side notifies the user side of the effect so as to instruct the temperature to be corrected.

If the abnormality is not improved despite the work of the worker, the operator computer 23 specifies the cause and notifies the worker based on the report of the worker. For example, when the pressure does not reach a predetermined value, the inspection and replacement of the APC 112 and the vacuum pump 113 are instructed.

In addition, when the obstacle is a software problem, the operator-side computer 23 sends out predetermined software to the factory-side computer 16, for example, and the factory-side computer 16 automatically performs a recovery process.

After the completion of the recovery process, when the device 15 is turned on, the time counter 126 starts counting. In this way, the time counter 126 counts the uptime which excludes the unexpected (unscheduled) downtime (Unscheduled Downtime) of the device 15.

As described above, unscheduled stop time of the device 15 at the time of the occurrence of a failure by eliminating duplication of work, shortening the waiting time of the user's worker by performing maintenance management in cooperation with the user and the operator. Downtime) can be substantially shortened. Therefore, the operation rate (productivity) of the apparatus 15 can be improved.

As described above, the operation state data is received to monitor the device 15, while the operator-side computer 23 receives the maintenance data, and calculates an optimum replacement cycle of the parts as shown below to obtain the parts information DB. Store at 32.

Hereinafter, the operation | movement which the operator side computer 23 processes maintenance data is demonstrated with reference to the flow shown in FIG.

Data relating to parts replacement of the device 15, included in the maintenance data, is generated when the device 15 is replaced during regular inspection, or when a failure caused by a part occurs and repaired and replaced. That is, data is generated when the worker who has replaced parts inputs maintenance data such as the type, date and time of use of the replaced parts, from the input / output device of the device 15. The generated data is sent out immediately or periodically by the factory side computer 16, and the operator side computer 23 receives it (step S31).

Here, the time counter 126 stops counting when the device 15 is stopped for parts replacement and regular replacement due to an unexpected failure. Accordingly, the time counter 126 counts the uptime of the device 15, excluding the scheduled downtime and the unscheduled downtime.

The central processing unit 127 of the operator-side computer 23 stores the received maintenance data in the device information DB 29 (step S32). Next, the operator-side computer 23 refers to the type of parts exchanged from the maintenance data of the device information DB 29 and calculates an optimum replacement cycle of the corresponding parts (step S33).

The optimum replacement cycle is, for example, an average value of the service life of the collected parts or a value added with a predetermined margin or weighting value. That is, the average use time is calculated for the replaced parts, and a predetermined margin is added to derive an optimum replacement period. This process is performed each time new maintenance data (part replacement data) occurs, and the derived optimum replacement cycle is updated and stored in the part information DB 32.

In this way, parts replacement is performed on a plurality of devices 15, and the replacement cycle of the parts stored in the parts information DB 32 is optimized each time new maintenance data is acquired.

The operator computer 23 collects maintenance data from the device 15 held by one or more users. Therefore, the parts replacement cycle is highly reliable based on abundant data.

The optimum replacement cycle of the various components obtained as described above is sent to all users at regular intervals, for example, at intervals of one to two weeks (step S35). The user can refer to the exchange period information received, and can devise a new plan for enabling more efficient operation of the device 15, the factory 12, and the like. As a result, the periodic inspection cycle can be optimized, and the operation time of the device 15 can be increased, and the scheduled down time can be reduced. Productivity can be improved.

12, the operator side computer 23 performs the monitoring operation or the like as described above. In exchange for such maintenance management service, the operator-side computer 23 determines the billing amount according to the improvement of productivity within the billing period and charges the user for each billing period.

The operator-side computer 23 determines whether the billing generation date has arrived based on the start date of use of the device 15 stored in the billing information DB 33, the unit billing period and / or the preliminary period (step S16). . If a preliminary period is three months and a unit billing period is one year, a billing generation date will be one year and three months after a use start date. In addition, the date on which the billing information DB 33 is added with a preliminary period on the start date of use may be stored as the service start date, and the charge generation may be determined for each unit period from the service start date.

In addition, in the flow shown in FIG. 12, although the monitoring process and the billed amount determination process are performed separately, the monitoring process and the billed amount determination process are performed in parallel substantially.

When the billing generation date arrives, the operator computer 23 determines the billing amount in the last billing period that has passed (step S17). 15 shows an example of the flow showing the determination operation of the billed amount.

First, the operator-side computer 23 reads the uptime of the device 15 within the billing period from the device information DB 29, while the operation time of the device 15 from the profile information DB 30. (Operations Time) is read (step S41). The uptime of the device information DB 29 and the uptime of the profile information DB 30 are reset after the billed amount is determined.

The operator-side computer 23 calculates availability based on the read uptime and operation time read out (step S42). Specifically, the operator computer 23 divides the uptime by the operation time. By multiplying the obtained value by 100, the availability (%) is derived.

Subsequently, the operator computer 23 refers to the productivity reference value (availability) of the charging information DB 33 and compares it with the calculated availability (step S43). In other words, the difference between the calculated value and the reference value is taken. The difference obtained is the quantified productivity improvement of the device 15 in the charging target period, and is charged for this.

Next, the operator-side computer 23 refers to the charging rate of the charging information DB 33, and multiplies and converts the quantified productivity improvement to the charging rate (step S44). As a result, the billed amount according to the improvement of productivity for the maintenance service of the device 15 in the target period is determined (step S45).

In addition, when there is no improvement in productivity, charging does not occur. That is, for example, billing does not occur when the difference takes a negative value.

The operator-side computer 23 performs the same processing as above on the device 15 in which the predetermined charging target period has elapsed from the start of use based on the start date of use of the device information DB 29.

The operator computer 23 notifies the user of the result obtained as described above as a claim amount (FIG. 12, step S18). The notification is notified to the user every occurrence of the result or at the end of the period. The notification method is a means such as mail or FAX, and the user is notified in the form shown in FIG. 16, for example.

The user who receives the invoice shown in the drawing can clearly understand that the productivity of the device 15 is improved by the maintenance management service and that the increase is charged. Since billing occurs in accordance with the improvement in productivity, an unnecessary increase in the cost due to the payment of the service to the service is avoided, so that the user can understand the request for the payment.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the maintenance management service selectively charges the portion where the productivity of the device 15 is improved. In addition, the billed amount is an amount according to the degree of improvement in productivity. In this way, since it is possible to charge for the productivity improvement separately from the general maintenance management service, it is a charging method with high satisfaction for both the user and the operator.

That is, the user pays the price to the maintenance management service according to the improvement of productivity, and therefore the increase of the production cost by the increase of maintenance cost is suppressed.

The operator can collect the cost for performing the above-described high quality maintenance management service in such a manner that the user can understand it, without lowering customer satisfaction.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and applications are possible. EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the modified form of the said Example applicable to this invention is demonstrated.

In the above embodiment, the productivity reference value, the unit charging period, the productivity reference value, the charging rate, and the like stored in the charging information DB 33 are assumed to be constant. However, these data can of course be changed from time to time, depending on the decision of the user and the operator. For example, the service life of the device 15 may be extended, and the productivity reference value, the charging rate, and the like may be experienced.

In the said Example, the productivity reference value shall provide a preliminary period, and shall quantify and determine productivity in the meantime. However, the method of setting the reference value is not limited to this. For example, the user and operator may use a predetermined value.

In the said Example, productivity was quantified based on availability. However, the quantification technique may use availability, uptime, throughput per unit period, or the like, or a combination thereof.

In the above embodiment, the time counter 126 is configured to be provided in the device 15. However, the time counter 126 may be provided in the factory side computer 16 or may be comprised by the software timer which the factory side computer 16 incorporates.

In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the time in which the device 15 is in the on state is counted as the uptime. However, the method for setting the uptime is not limited to this, and may be, for example, counted except for the time when the device 15 substantially terminates the processing operation. In addition, the time in the off state may be counted instead of the time in the on state of the device 15, and the operation time Uptime may be calculated by subtracting from the operation time.

In the above example, the device 15 is always in the on state even when the production is not in operation, and the test operation is performed every predetermined time. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and when not in production operation, the device 15 is basically turned off, and may be turned on for a test operation every predetermined time. In this case, the time counter 126 continues to count as an on state even if it turns off from the previous production operation, and stops counting, for example, when an abnormality is detected in a test operation.

In the above embodiment, it is assumed that maintenance data relating to parts replacement is input from an input / output device provided in the device 15. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and maintenance data may be input from the factory side computer 16 and transmitted to the operator side computer 23. In addition, the operation status data and the maintenance data transmitted from the device 15 are transmitted to the operator-side computer 23 via the in-house wiring network 17, but the device 15 is directly connected to a communication line 14 such as the Internet. May be connected directly to the operator computer 23.

In the above embodiment, the operator-side computer 23 derives the optimum replacement cycle of the parts from the collected maintenance data, makes it into a DB, and transmits it periodically to the user side. The optimal replacement cycle of the DBized parts can be made public and searchable on the Internet by providing a browser of its own on the operator computer 23 and the factory computer 16.

In the above example, it is assumed that the factory computer 16 sends various data to the operator computer 23. However, it is also possible to obtain operation status data and maintenance data by connecting to the factory computer 16 from the operator computer 23.

In the above embodiment, the user is a semiconductor device manufacturer or the like, and the device 15 used by the user is a manufacturing device such as a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display device. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention can also be applied to other electronic devices such as CCDs, solar cells, or other general industrial products.

Moreover, this invention includes the specification, the claim, drawing, and summary based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-265664 for which it applied on September 11, 2002. The disclosure in this application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The present invention can be used in the industrial field using the charging method and the charging system for the maintenance management service of the production equipment.

According to the present invention, a method and a system capable of satisfying both of a user and a vendor for charging of maintenance of an apparatus are provided.

Claims (8)

As maintenance method of apparatus equipped with function to determine amount of money of maintenance service of apparatus, An operation state data acquisition step of acquiring operation state data indicating a physical quantity indicating an operation state of an apparatus targeted for maintenance management service by a sensor; The computer determines whether the device is normal or abnormal based on the physical quantity indicated by the operation status data acquired in the operation status data acquiring step and the reference physical quantity, and outputs a predetermined alarm by the output means when it is determined that the error is abnormal. Alarm process, An operation time detection step of acquiring the operation time of the device by measurement means for measuring the time when the device is on in a predetermined service period, A quantification step of calculating, by a computer, an index value indicating the quantified productivity of the device in a predetermined service period based on the uptime detected by the uptime detection step and a predetermined available time; A comparison step of comparing the productivity of the device quantified in the quantification step with a predetermined productivity standard and a comparison means, and calculating the difference by a computer; Reading the charging reference data from the charging reference value storage means, and determining, based on the difference calculated by the charging reference data and the comparison means by the computer, the charged amount for the maintenance service within the service period by the computer; Billing amount determination process Maintenance management method of the device comprising a. The method of claim 1, A preliminary period operation time detection step of detecting an operating time of the device in the preliminary period by measuring the time that the device is turned on in a predetermined preliminary period by the measuring means; The computer calculates an index value indicating the quantified productivity of the device in a predetermined reserve period based on the operating time in the reserve period and the available time in the reserve period detected by the computer by the computer. Productivity Criteria Determination Process to Determine Productivity Criteria Maintenance management method comprising the. delete delete A maintenance management system for a device having a function for determining an amount of money for a maintenance service of a device, Operation status data acquiring means for acquiring operation status data indicating a physical quantity indicating an operation status of the device targeted for maintenance service; An alarm means for discriminating whether the device is normal or abnormal based on the physical quantity indicated by the operation status data acquired by the operation status data obtaining means and the reference physical quantity, and generating a predetermined alarm from the output means when it is determined that the error is abnormal; , Operation time detection means for detecting an operation time of the device by measuring the time when the device is turned on in a predetermined service period, Quantification means for calculating an index value indicating the quantified productivity of the device in a predetermined service period based on the uptime detected by the uptime detection means and a predetermined uptime; Comparison means for comparing the productivity of the device quantified by the quantification means with a predetermined productivity standard and calculating the difference; Charging reference value storage means for storing the charging reference value corresponding to the difference in productivity calculated by the comparison means; Charge amount determination means for determining a charge amount for the maintenance management service within the service period, based on the difference calculated by the comparison means and the charge reference value stored in the charge reference value storage means; Maintenance management system of the device comprising a. The method of claim 5, Preliminary period operation time detection means for detecting the operation time of the device in the preliminary period by measuring the time that the device is turned on in a predetermined preliminary period, The productivity criterion is determined by calculating an index value indicating the quantified productivity of the device in a predetermined reserve period based on the uptime in the reserve period and the available time in the reserve period detected by the uptime detection means. And a productivity criterion determining means for determining. delete delete

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